Brackets / Single elimination / 30 teams

30-team single elimination bracket

29 games over 5 rounds. Seed 1 and seed 2 get a bye into round 2.

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final G1 16 17 G2 8 25 G3 9 24 G4 4 29 G5 13 20 G6 5 28 G7 12 21 G8 15 18 G9 7 26 G10 10 23 G11 3 30 G12 14 19 G13 6 27 G14 11 22 G15 1 bye Winner G1 G16 Winner G2 Winner G3 G17 Winner G4 Winner G5 G18 Winner G6 Winner G7 G19 2 bye Winner G8 G20 Winner G9 Winner G10 G21 Winner G11 Winner G12 G22 Winner G13 Winner G14 G23 Winner G15 Winner G16 G24 Winner G17 Winner G18 G25 Winner G19 Winner G20 G26 Winner G21 Winner G22 G27 Winner G23 Winner G24 G28 Winner G25 Winner G26 G29 Winner G27 Winner G28

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30teams
29games to a champion
5rounds
1 and 2seeds get a bye

The shape of a 30-team bracket

30 teams in a 32-slot bracket leave 2 byes, for seeds 1 and 2. The other 28 teams play 14 round-1 games, from 16 v 17 down to 11 v 22. After round 1, 16 teams are left and the bracket is full from there.

If the favourites win

That puts seed 1 against seed 4 and seed 2 against seed 3 in the semifinals.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
1bye, then 16 (G15), 8 (G23), 4 (G27), 2 (G29)
2bye, then 15 (G19), 7 (G25), 3 (G28), 1 (G29)
330 (G11), 14 (G21), 6 (G26), 2 (G28)
429 (G4), 13 (G17), 5 (G24), 1 (G27)

How many games each team plays

The fewest is 1, for a team that loses its first game, which for a bye team is its round-2 game. The most is 5, and 4 for a champion that had a bye. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 4 and seed 30 plays 1.

How long it takes

29 games at 30 minutes is 14 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 14 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.

CourtsClock time
114 h 30 min
27 h 30 min
44 h 30 min

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G2Round 1Seed 8Seed 25
G3Round 1Seed 9Seed 24
G4Round 1Seed 4Seed 29
G5Round 1Seed 13Seed 20
G6Round 1Seed 5Seed 28
G7Round 1Seed 12Seed 21
G8Round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G9Round 1Seed 7Seed 26
G10Round 1Seed 10Seed 23
G11Round 1Seed 3Seed 30
G12Round 1Seed 14Seed 19
G13Round 1Seed 6Seed 27
G14Round 1Seed 11Seed 22
G15Round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G16Round 2Winner of G2Winner of G3
G17Round 2Winner of G4Winner of G5
G18Round 2Winner of G6Winner of G7
G19Round 2Seed 2Winner of G8
G20Round 2Winner of G9Winner of G10
G21Round 2Winner of G11Winner of G12
G22Round 2Winner of G13Winner of G14
G23QuarterfinalsWinner of G15Winner of G16
G24QuarterfinalsWinner of G17Winner of G18
G25QuarterfinalsWinner of G19Winner of G20
G26QuarterfinalsWinner of G21Winner of G22
G27SemifinalsWinner of G23Winner of G24
G28SemifinalsWinner of G25Winner of G26
G29FinalWinner of G27Winner of G28

Questions

How many games are in a 30-team single elimination bracket?

29.

How many rounds does a 30-team single elimination bracket have?

5 rounds.

Who gets the byes with 30 teams?

Seed 1 and Seed 2. They start in round 2.

Can I add a third-place game to a 30-team bracket?

Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 30 games.

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